Watch This Colorful Spider Display The Most Important Dance Of His Life

chalc3d0ny

By chalc3d0ny

Proper BCS greatergood_ctg_belowtitle

When the peacock spider, from the jumping spider family, wants to attract a mate, he does one of the most spectacular dances in the animal kingdom! Named for their bright colors and fancy moves, the male peacock spider must pull out some stellar moves to avoid being devoured by its potential mate.

Madeline Girard, an animal behavior specialist, is fascinated by this wild ritual, and has been studying the arachnid’s dance at her lab in UC Berkeley — and in the meantime has identified a number of unique and previously unknown species in the process!

Did you know there are 44 species of peacock spiders in the genus Maratus? It’s true! They can be found all across the world in almost every single country. Even better yet — the two newest peacock spider species are named “Sparklemuffin” and “Skeletorus”, how fun is that?

Watch the video to have a look at these beautiful rhythmic creatures and gain a new appreciation of our 8-legged friends.